


Broken

by stanleyvris



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst, F/F, So much angst, abuse warning! (talking about max's father)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-13
Updated: 2018-03-13
Packaged: 2019-03-30 19:53:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13958814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stanleyvris/pseuds/stanleyvris
Summary: Max & Eleven have been dating for a few months now, but their different traumas put pressure on their relationship. Max & El are 16 in the fic.





	1. Don't Lie to Me

The tears fell, hot and heavy, down Max’s face as she stumbled through the forest. Neil’s shouting still echoed inside her head, the flashes of his fist playing through her head. She bit her lip to stifle a cry, only to taste blood. Max spat and reached out, grabbing at the air before her hand came in contact with a tree, and she slumped against it. The forest was uncomfortably still. No leaves rustled with a breeze, no squirrels darted up tree trunks - there was only silence. With a shuddering breath, Max steadied her breathing and straightened, pulling her jacket sleeves as far as they could go so that they would cover her arms and half of her hands. Her eyes stung from the tears that continued to well up, and her head throbbed from yelling. 

Max had only just escaped Neil’s anger a few minutes earlier, bolting from the house as he let go of her for a second to turn around to yell at Susan. The ghost of his fingers coiled around her wrist remained, and she anxiously pulled her sleeve down again out of habit. The walk to Eleven’s cabin seemed to be taking twice as long as she limped through the forest, leaving a trail of disturbed leaves in her wake. It was only when her eyes landed on the small house did her thundering heartbeat slow, and she let out another shaking breath before she continued up the creaking stairs. She raised a hand and hesitated before knocking quietly, the rough wood rubbing against her knuckles. There was a click, and then the door swung open.

Warmth spilled out from the cabin. Comforting, welcoming warmth. Max shivered as the heat reached out to her, pulling her inside the cabin. 

“Max!” yelped Eleven from her spot on the couch. Max was facing the door as she closed it, not wanting Eleven to see her face. “I thought it was you. Well, obviously, otherwise I wouldn’t have let you in.”

Max took in a long, painful breath. “Hey.” She heard Eleven stand from the couch and cross the room, standing behind her. Max didn’t realise her hand was still on the doorknob when Eleven spoke.

“It’s ok, the doors shut,” laughed Eleven. Max glanced down and saw her knuckles were white from gripping the handle so hard, and she released her grasp before raising her head. 

“Yeah…” she mumbled. There was silence.

“Max?” said Eleven tentatively, outstretching a hand and placing it on Max’s shoulder. Max instinctively yelped and whipped around, backing up against the wall. Eleven’s eyes went wide and she withdrew her hand, staring at Max, who had begun to breathe heavily as she stared at the ground. The TV switched off, and Eleven looked Max up and down, searching her for any sign of torment. “What happened?” she asked. Max snapped her head up to look at Eleven before relaxing her tensed shoulders.

“Nothing,” she said flatly. 

Eleven’s brows creased as she stared at Max. “Don’t lie to me.” 

“I’m not,” snapped back Max. Eleven’s eyebrows raised and she opened her mouth slightly. “Sorry, just tired,” finished Max as she went to walk around Eleven, but she felt a hand around her wrist. The action made her tense up, and El saw Max wince, so she loosened her grip. 

“Max, I’m serious. What happened?” she repeated, staring sternly into the other girl’s eyes. Max’s eyes flicked from her wrist to Eleven’s gaze and she set her jaw.

“Nothing, I just got a bad night's sleep so I’m a little edgy,” said Max slowly before pulling her hand out of Eleven’s grasp. There was silence except for the sound of Max’s feet slapping against the wooden floorboards as she walked over to the couch, slouching into it. Eleven rubbed her thumb and forefinger together before following Max and sitting beside her on the couch.

Eleven knew Max was lying. It was obvious that something had happened. Max’s eyes were red from crying, and her sleeves were pulled so far down her arms that only the tips of her fingers were poking out from the fabric - it was obvious what had happened, Neil had gotten drunk again. In that moment, Eleven wanted to pull Max into a hug and never let her go. She wanted to plant a thousand kisses on Max’s freckled forehead, and whisk her away to someplace safe. But she knew that couldn’t happen. Eleven reached her hands outs, one resting on Max’s hand and the other holding onto the jacket sleeve. The redhead began to shake as Eleven slowly pulled her jacket sleeve up. She let out a gasp as more and more purple marks appeared the higher up she rolled Max’s sleeve. Once the fabric would go no further, she could see five large, blue-purple bruises on Max’s arm. Her wrist had a red line around it, lines the size of fingers. Max refused to look at Eleven’s face, and stared ahead, tears beginning to sting her eyes again.

“Max…” breathed Eleven as she stared, horrified, at the injuries. Max responded with a whimper before her whole body sagged, wracked with a sudden onslaught of sobs. Eleven moved closer to her, and caught her in her arms. Max collapsed against Eleven’s chest, and the tears fell. The wind picked up outside, blowing against the cabin. Eleven wrapped one arm around Max, and another around her head, holding the girl close to her. “Shh, you’re safe now,” whispered Eleven as Max continued to cry, “Shh, I’m here now.”


	2. Lies Are All You're Capable Of

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What started out as a fun day of Max and Eleven hanging out, turned into a fight between the two of them after a boy spots the two of them kissing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for homophobic language!
> 
> Sorry that this whole fic is so intense & sad, but as I said in the previous chapter notes, someone requested a very angst elmax fic.

It had been a week since Neil’s last outburst, but the bruises still lingered on Max’s skin. A constant reminder of the danger she was in. But today was a good day, at least it had to be. Billy was out cruising around town with some guys from school, no doubt terrorising random strangers. Neil and Susan were out on a day trip to visit some friends, leaving Max by herself at the house. The house was quiet for the first time in a while, and Max revelled in it. She could wander the halls, enter the kitchen, sit on the couch, all without being pestered by anyone else. After being alone for a few hours, Max called Eleven on her walkie talkie.

“Hey Max,” said Eleven, her voice crackling through the radio back to Max.

“Hey El. I was wondering if you wanted to come over today? No one’s home so we can have the house to ourselves,” asked Max.

“Sounds fun, I’ll be there in 10,” replied Eleven.

“See you then,” finished Max before pushing down the antenna on her walkie talkie. For the next few minutes, she rushed around the house, straightening pillows and tidying her bedroom. Eleven had never been to her house, and Max didn’t want her to think she wasn’t organised.

\--

It had been exactly 10 minutes when there was a knock at the door. Max, who was sitting on the couch, jumped up and speed-walked to the door, swinging it open.

Eleven looked up from the ground where she was looking at the doormat. “Hi,” she smiled.

“Hey,” said Max, stepping to the side so Eleven could enter. El walked in and her eyes scanned the room, taking in every detail. 

“I like your house,” complimented El.

Max looked around the room and scratched the back of her head. “Thanks.” Eleven smiled and leant in, giving Max a quick kiss. The redhead guided her girlfriend over to the couch and the two sank into it’s cushions. 

Eleven shrugged off her jacket as she spoke. “What should we do today?”

Max turned her attention from the TV to the curly brown-haired girl. “Not sure, have anything particular in mind?” Eleven sat there for a moment, thinking to herself.

“Have a nap?” suggested El. Max let out a laugh and shook her head. “Hm… you could teach me how to skate,” she continued. Max’s eyes flashed and she grinned at El.

“Sounds good,” said Max before standing up and taking hold of Eleven’s hand, and grabbing her skateboard in the other.

“Remember, I’ve never done this before… so go easy,” said El as she reached forward and opened the door, following Max outside.

Max nodded. “Don’t worry, I will. Skateboarding isn’t that hard though.” Eleven tilted her head to the side and shook her head. Skateboarding was not going to be easy for her, she knew that much already. 

The girls walked for a few minutes before arriving at a skatepark. Max dropped her board and turned to Eleven.

“Hop on,” she said.

Eleven looked from the board up to her. “How?”

“What do you mean how? Just hop on!” laughed Max, pulling Eleven onto the skateboard. She stumbled, but placed her feet where Max pointed, and stood up to try and steady herself. “Ok so that’s how you place your feet when you’re skating before pushing. But when you want to push, which you need to do in order to move, you’ve gotta put your foot on the ground and push off,” explained Max. She let go of Eleven to mimic the movement, and Eleven wobbled in place as she watched. 

“So push off and I’ll move?” asked Eleven.

Max nodded. “Yep, and to change your direction, either lean to the left or the right, that way it’ll tilt in the direction you want to go in.” Eleven looked up at her girlfriend and smiled. Seeing Max talking so freely about something she loved so much made El happy. She knew that Max sometimes had to hold back, too nervous to speak. But here, with El, talking about skating, she could see Max was comfortable. 

It was difficult, but Eleven tried her best to skate. She gripped onto Max’s hands as she skated down the path, wobbling slightly everytime she moved her feet. There were many, many falls, but most of the time Max caught El before she could hit the ground.

“Break time,” panted Eleven, stepping off the board.

“Alright, my go then,” said Max, stepping onto the board and going for a lap around the park. Eleven sat on a bench, rubbing her calves as they ached from being so tense. Max returned, skating with ease, leaning this way and that, weaving around bumps in the path.

“How’re you so good at it?” whined Eleven as she stood up, walking over to Max

Max broke out into a grin as she began to circle Eleven. “I’ve just been doing it for longer.” Eleven turned on the spot so that her body would always be facing Max. Max slowed to a stop as she saw how Eleven was staring at her.

“What?” asked Max, her brows creasing together.

“You’re so cool,” answered Eleven with a laugh as she leant in and kissed Max. The two stood there, Max on her board, and Eleven standing on her tiptoes so she could reach Max’s face. Max raised her hands and cupped Eleven’s face, and smiled as she kissed Eleven. It was a sweet moment, until a voice rang out.

“Faggots!” yelled an unknown voice, and the two girls broke apart. The girls had completely forgotten they were in a public park. They had been so wrapped up in each other that they forgot their surroundings. They both turned, trying to find who had called out, and to their horror, they saw that at least 3 people had stopped what they were doing and were staring at them. Eleven gasped and looked up at Max, who was frozen in fear.

Max wasn’t looking at Eleven, she was staring ahead at the boys. She bawled her hands into fists as she heard one of them whisper.

“That’s disgusting,” said the boy, looking Max up and down. 

“Max…” breathed Eleven. The redhead, who had been frozen, seem to come to her senses. She kicked up her board, and grabbed hold of it as she turned and began to run back to her house. “Max!” called out Eleven, hurrying to catch up with her. 

\--

When they had arrived back at the house, both of their lungs burning from how hard they had been sprinting, Max kicked open the door. Eleven followed her in, and carefully shut the door. Max still hadn’t spoken a word, only dropped her skateboard and took off her shoes, throwing one at the wall. Eleven flinched as the shoe hit the wall, a loud thud reverberated through the house. 

“Max,” said Eleven, reaching out to grab the girl’s hand, but Max jerked her arm back.

“Don’t touch me!” she yelled. Eleven bit the inside of her cheek before attempting to speak again.

“Max, it’s ok. They won’t do anything,” she said quietly, trying to calm the redhead down.

Max whirled around to look at Eleven. “No, it’s not ok! We just ruined everything!” 

“You know that’s not true. They’ll forget about it by the end of the week,” replied Eleven.

But Max wasn’t listening anymore, she had stopped pacing and both of her hands were bent in front of her as she pointed at nothing in particular. “We need to… we need to stop seeing each other. That can’t happen again, my dad will kill me - he’ll kill us,” murmured Max. Eleven’s jaw dropped open and the inner part of her eyebrows raised, it was clear that the last words had stung her.

“Max… you can’t be serious,” she cried. 

Max looked up to stare at Eleven. “We have to. It’s the only way we can be safe.” Max’s mind was going into overdrive - what if the boys told someone and about them? What if the person they told recognised it was Max and told Neil? 

Tears were beginning to well up in Eleven’s eyes as she spoke, “there has to be another way!”

“No, there isn’t,” said Max grimly, shaking her head.

Eleven stepped forward, her eyes now glistening with tears. “We can… we can lie! We can lie and say we’re just friends!” she stuttered.

“That won’t do. We have to break up. And we can’t be seen hanging out with each other so much. Those boys are bound to tell someone, and us being near one another will only cause suspicion,” stated Max. The sadness that had been cascading down onto Eleven halted, and was instead replaced with rage. Rage that some random boys in a park could take away one of the best parts of her life. Rage that Max was giving up so easily.

“Why would it matter? Sometimes lies are all you seem to be capable of!” snapped Eleven. As soon as the words left her lips, she wished to pull them back in. All expression left Max’s face and she fell silent. “I didn’t mean that,” whispered Eleven, but the damage was already done. 

Max’s face darkened. “Get out,” she grumbled.

“Max, please, I didn’t mean to-” begged Eleven, but Max interrupted her.

“I said get out!” she yelled, pointing to the door. Eleven took one last, pleading look at Max before she grabbed her jacket and stumbled out of the door. She heard it slam as she reached the road, and she didn’t bother to look back. Tears began to burn Eleven’s eyes and she ran back to the cabin. She and Max had never had such a bad fight, and it left Eleven feeling heartbroken. She hadn’t meant to accuse Max of being a liar, the words had just slipped out in a moment of anger. But it was too late, and the tears continued to fall as she ran through the streets.


	3. Everything Hurts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Max’s fight with Eleven, she runs to her closest friend for help.

Neil and Susan were still out when Billy returned home. Max heard his car pull into the driveway and she bolted to her room. Her face was red and blotchy from crying, the aftermath of her fight with Eleven. She shut her bedroom door as quietly as possible, then turned and leant her back against it, slowing her breathing. The front door slammed and the walls of the house shook.

“Max!” yelled Billy, his heavy footsteps stomping through the house. She squeezed her eyes shut and placed her hands flat against the door. The footsteps were getting closer, and then they stopped. Max breathed a sigh of relief, but her eyes flew open when she felt the door push, and she scrambled away from it. “Locking the door now?” sneered Billy. She was frozen, staring at the door as the handle jiggled from Billy trying to open it.

“Billy go away,” said Max, her voice shaking. Even though she had stopped him at the Byers house months before, it seemed that protection only lasted when Billy wasn’t drunk - and now he was smashed and angry, just like Neil. 

There was a low chuckle from the other side of the door and the handle stopped moving. “Max, open the door.”

Max threw a fleeting look to her bedroom window before refocusing on the door. She stared at it for a moment before turning on her heels, skidding to the otherside of the room and threw her window open. She clambered out of it, and right as her feet hit the ground, she heard her the splinter of wood as the bedroom door flew open. Without looking back, she sprinted away from the house, her feet carrying her to the only place she could think of - The Sinclair’s.

\--

Her feet ached and she was breathing heavily as she knocked on the door. Not a minute later, it swung open, and in the doorway stood Mrs Sinclair.

“Max?” she said, frowning. She looked Max up and down and her face turned serious, “I’ll go get Lucas.” There was a shout, the banging of footsteps down stairs, and then Lucas stood before Max. 

“What the hell-” began Lucas.

“Talk, please,” interrupted Max. Lucas nodded and shut the door, following her out onto the front lawn. The two sat down on the grass and Max hugged her knees to her chest.

“What happened?” questioned Lucas, biting his lip in concern as he saw how red Max’s face was.

Max shifted slightly before taking in a deep breath. “Eleven. We had a fight.” Lucas’ expression changed from confusion to understanding and he put his arm around Max.

“Didn’t end well?” he said. Max nodded. “How bad?” he asked.

Max let out a whine before answering, “really bad.” 

Lucas hugged Max tighter. “What was it about?”

There was a sniff, and Max sat up, making Lucas release his arm from around her. “We were at the park, and we kissed, and some boys saw us and-” she explained.

“They didn’t take it very well,” grimaced Lucas. He knew the residents of Hawkins were very, very conservative. He bawled his hands up into a fist, fighting the anger for the unknown boys he felt. If there was one thing that Lucas hated the most, it was his friends in pain, and he had to resist the urge to hunt the boys down.

“We had a huge fight and I told her we couldn’t be together anymore, otherwise we could be attacked or something, and I can’t put her in danger,” said Max. Lucas nodded, and something on Max’s wrist caught his eye. 

“What’s this?” he asked as he reached out and pulled her jacket sleeve upwards. He let out a gasp as his eyes fell upon the bruises that dotted her arm. “Who did this? Neil? Billy?”

“Neil,” whispered Max as she ripped out a chunk of grass. “I don’t know what to do Lucas,” she continued, “Neil has only gotten worse, and Billy keeps coming home drunk too, and I just pushed away Eleven,” she whined, but Lucas cut her off by wrapping her in his arms. Max dropped her head to lean into Lucas, her body feeling like a dead weight.

“It’s going to be ok, you can get through this,” he whispered.

“Everything hurts,” cried Max, gripping onto the front of Lucas’ shirt as she began to cry. Max hadn’t felt this emotional in years, that the sheer intensity of it was overwhelming her. Half the time she couldn’t tell if she wanted to curl into a ball and cry, or stand up and scream. But she felt like neither of the two options would fix how bad she was feeling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're only halfway through the fic and both Max & El have cried at least once. I feel so bad for such an intense fic


	4. Everything Fell Apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eleven is struggling after her argument with Max, which leads to a telekinetic breakdown.

It had been two days since Max and Eleven’s argument, but sadness still hung over Eleven like a dark cloud. She supposed that she was the cloud, and her tears the rain. The cabin was quiet, the TV and the radio both switched off. Eleven had secluded herself to her bedroom, laying on her bed for hours on end, staring blankly at the ceiling. The bed covers were kicked onto the floor and clothes were scattered around. Hopper told Eleven to clean her room up four hours ago, but she couldn’t do it, couldn’t move, her mind was preoccupied. She hated how the fight ended - no forgiving one another, just being forced out and running home. Max and Eleven still hadn’t talked since then, and everything felt wrong. El had felt the tension rising between her and Max lately, but she ignored it, hoping it was only paranoia and not anything serious. There was a click, and then a groan as the front door opened. Eleven tensed up before hearing Hopper.

“Hey kid,” he said, tapping on her door. Eleven turned on her side as the door swung open and Hopper stood in the doorway. He looked around the room, seeing the mess. “I thought I said you had to clean this up,” he sighed. El didn’t turn around, only continued to stare at the wall. There was silence except for Hopper’s breathing, and then another sigh as the door swung shut. 

Outside the room, there was the lighting off a fire and the clattering of pots and pans - Hopper was making dinner. Eleven huffed, knowing dinner meant she had to leave her room. She knew keeping herself secluded to her bed wasn’t good for her, but she was too emotionally drained to interact. El had thought of calling Mike and going for a walk with him to the quarry, but he and Will were going away for the weekend with Jonathan and Nancy. So she gave up trying, and let the gloom consume her. She and Mike had never fought like this, and as a result, she had no idea how to deal with what was happening with her and Max. 

“Dinner!” called out Hopper, and Eleven rolled grudgingly out of bed. She lumbered into the living room before dropping down onto a chair beside the table. Hopper came over and placed two plates on the table, one for each of them. El looked down at the food, fish and chips, and picked up her fork, pushing the food around on the plate.

Hopper was midway through cutting a fillet when he saw what El was doing. “Hey, what’s wrong with it?”

“Not in the mood,” grumbled Eleven, dropping her cutlery. 

“Not in the mood for food?” said Hopper, his brows creasing. Eleven nodded and leant back in her chair, tilting her head to the side and staring at the ground. “What’s wrong?” asked Hopper, putting his cutlery down and clasping his hands in front of him as he looked at El.

“Nothing,” she responded.

Hopper sighed. “Look, I know I’m not great at emotional stuff, but you have to tell me what’s up.” Eleven looked sideways at him and shifted in the chair so that she was facing the TV, her side to Hopper. 

“Don’t want to talk about it,” murmured El. 

“Would it upset me?” questioned Hopper. Eleven shrugged and started to scratch at the peeling paint of the chair. “Eleven, I can’t help you if you don’t tell me,” he continued.

El took a shaking breath before speaking. “Max.”

“Max?” said Hopper, a moment passed before recognition dawned on his face, “something bad happen?” Eleven nodded and felt her eyes beginning to sting. “What was it?” asked Hopper. 

“Fight,” she whispered, tears beginning to well up in her eyes.

Hopper leant back, folding his arms. “A fight? What about?” 

“She says we can’t be together…” started El, but paused as a tear ran down her cheek, “otherwise we’ll get hurt,” she finished, choking on a sob.

“Why would you get hurt? Is she the one hurting you? Is her family?” asked Hopper as he jerked upright and stared intently at Eleven.

El shook her head. “No, there were these boys at the park and they…” she took another shaking breath, “they saw us together.” Hopper cursed and El let out a sob, folding her arms. 

“I’m sorry Kid, but people aren’t very good with that kind of thing. It’s better if you two keep it private. Max is right, you can get hurt if people see you together like that,” explained Hopper. Eleven let out a wail.

“Why can’t I just be with Max? The Sinclair’s can kiss in public, so could Joyce and Bob - why can’t Max and I?” she yelled. The table shook slightly and the plates rattled as she finished speaking.

“I know, it’s not fair. But one day you will be able to be together in public, just not right now,” said Hopper. 

Eleven stood up from the chair and moved to the couch and laid down on it, curling herself into a ball.

“It’s not fair,” she cried. There was the scraping of a chair, then Hopper appeared beside her on the couch. 

He reached out a hand and stroked her hair. “I know, I know,” he said softly.

“It’s not fair,” cried Eleven again, the tears now falling hard and fast.

“Shh, it’s ok, you’re ok here. Nothing can hurt you here,” continued Hopper in a soothing voice.

Eleven’s voice began to grow louder as she called out. “It’s not fair! It’s not fair! It’s not fair!” The lights in the cabin began swinging around wildly, the table shook again and the plates fell off, smashing on the ground. The TV wobbled on it’s stand and a few books tipped over the edge of the shelf and landed on the floor. Hopper looked around the cabin, and then back at Eleven, who had her eyes squeezed shut as a trickle of blood ran from her nose.

“El, you need to calm down,” said Hopper, taking a hold of her shoulder.

“Not fair! Not fair! Not fair!” shouted Eleven. The lights blinked above them and something went crashing down in the bedroom. 

Hopper pulled her up so that she was sitting on the couch, her shoulders hunched, and her eyes still shut as the tears cascaded down her red cheeks. 

“You’re alright!” yelled Hopper over the noise. He hugged Eleven close to him, but the room continued to look like it was in the midst of a hurricane. “Eleven, you’re alright. You’re ok!” he shouted, squeezing her tightly to calm her down. Slowly, her sobs quietened and the room grew still. Items dropped to the floor as El let out a final wail before leaning into Hopper.

The pair sat there for a while, Hopper holding Eleven and her crying silently into his shoulder. Her mind was still racing with thoughts - she felt as if everything was falling apart, and she couldn’t pick up the pieces. The pieces, it seemed, were her and Max, and she decided she would do anything to put them back together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listen... the dynamic between Hopper & Eleven in s2 was amazing. It was one of my favourite things in the new season, so of course I had to include it in this fic.


	5. It Wasn't Supposed to End Like This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eleven wants to talk to Max about their fight, but Max is still nervous about the two of them being out in public together.

It was a day of rain and thunder. The rain hammered down on the roof of the cabin as Eleven sat snuggled up inside watching a soap opera. Heat wrapped around her as the log fire crackled in the corner of the room, orange sparks fluttering up the chimney. There was a crack, and Eleven jumped as the sound of a tree crashing to the ground came from outside. She stood up and crept towards the window, pulling back the curtain to see the broken tree laying on the ground. There were splinters sticking up from the stump, and El looked up at the sky of grey storm clouds.

A flash illuminated the forest, and a few moments later, a clap of thunder shook the cabin. El flicked her head to the side and the TV switched off. She turned and hurriedly put on layers of clothing, her boots and a beanie before turning to face the front door. Another bolt of lightning struck outside, and Eleven looked out the corner of her eye to watch the forest glow in it’s sudden brightness. She took a deep breath and opened the door, stepping out onto the porch. Her body shivered at the sudden temperature change, but she continued down the steps and out into the forest. The rain whipped and lashed around her, the trees bending dangerously in the wind. 

Even through the three layers Eleven was wearing, the cold still got to her, and she buried her hands in her jacket pockets and ducked her head against the rain. It was pounding against her, soaking through her clothing. It wasn’t pleasant, but Eleven was determined to get somewhere. She wasn’t even sure if who she hoped would be there, but there was a feeling in her gut that told her to continue through the howling wind and torrential rain. 

\--

Eleven nearly slipped as she ran across the carpark before opening the door to the arcade. She was soaking wet, her hair plastered to her face, and her boots covered in mud. There were hardly any people in the arcade, which was to be expected - who would want to go out in this weather? Eleven took a breath as if to prepare herself, and walked further into the arcade, snaking between machines. She came to a halt when her eyes fell upon fiery red hair, and her breath caught in her throat as she looked at Max. The two hadn’t seen each other for three days now, hadn’t even talked since the argument. Eleven peered down at her wet clothes and muddy boots and bit her lip before raising her head and walking over to Max.

“Hey,” said Eleven, her voice quieter than she expected. Max’s hand froze on the controllers, and her body went still. Eleven thought of running off - save having this conversation for another time when she felt more confident. 

Max didn’t move as she spoke. “Hello.” 

“How are you?” asked El, fiddling with her jacket sleeve.

Max let out a low laugh before turning to face El. “How am I?” she shrugged, “Not sure, does this answer your question?” she continued as she pulled up her jumper sleeve to reveal four new blue-gray bruises on her arm. Eleven gasped and automatically went to reach out her hand, but stopped halfway through the action and dropped her arm back to her side. 

“I’m sorry,” said Eleven. Max still hadn't turned to face her. “Max, did you hear me? I’m sorry. I know you said we can’t see each other, but we have to talk about what happened,” said Eleven. 

“You’re right, we can’t see each other. So you should leave,” Max grumbled in response, her hands gripping the controllers of the arcade machine. 

“Max, please, we need to talk,” whispered El, pleading lined the edge of her words. She was staring at Max, willing the other girl to face her. 

Max’s hands released the controllers and she turned to look at Eleven. Her eyes went wide momentarily as she saw the state El’s appearance was in, but quickly wiped the expression off her face. “Fine, but not here.” 

\--

Keith shut the door, leaving the two girls alone. Max settled on a seat beside the desk as Eleven looked around the small back room of the arcade. She was confused when Keith led them behind the counter, but Max had looked unfazed, and so Eleven just went with it. 

“What is this place?” asked Eleven before sitting on a stool.

“The office,” replied Max flatly. 

Eleven sighed. “So… we had a fight…”

“Yeah, we did,” said Max, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms. El tried to ignore Max’s attitude, and instead persisted in the conversation. 

“Those boys won’t tell anyone. No one has come after us yet, we will be ok,” explained Eleven.

Max immediately snapped back. “You don’t know that.” Eleven squeezed her hand into a fist before releasing it.

“Nothing has happened yet, and I don’t think anything will,” continued El, staring Max in the eyes. 

“And what happens if they see us together again, and then they go and tell someone? What if they have told someone and they’re just waiting to see us with each other again?” began Max, sitting up in her chair, gesturing angrily. Eleven shook her head and looked down. She was sure her and Max were supposed to be together, so why was Max so against it? Did she no longer like her? A long, uncomfortable silence stretched between the two of them. 

“It wasn’t supposed to end like this,” whispered Eleven, digging her nails into her hands.

“What wasn’t supposed to end like this?” questioned Max, her face scrunching up in confusion.

“Us,” muttered Eleven before slowly raising her head to meet Max’s eyes. The redhead’s expression softened. Eleven reached out and held Max’s hands in her own, and the two girls stared at their joined hands. It was a moment of hope, before Max pulled her arms back.

“I’m sorry about our fight,” she said, “but it isn’t safe,” she breathed before opening the office door and walking out of the room. Eleven was still on the stool, the ghost of Max’s hands in her own. She shook her head as to clear the feeling of Max’s skin against hers, and stood up, running after her.

“Max!” she called as the redhead pushed open the arcade door and walked out into the carpark. “Max!” repeated Eleven, but the other girl had already disappeared into the rain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Max is really protective of El so she thinks pushing her away will keep her out of harm (when in reality, it only makes the situation worse).


	6. Forgive Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a week without talking, Max decides to put all possible dangers aside to get Eleven back.

A week. It had been a week since Eleven and Max talked at the arcade. El had given up on seeing Max in person, and instead turned to trying to talk to her through their walkie talkies. It worked at first, Max responded with one word answers, but after a day Max shut off her walkie talkie and shoved it into her cupboard. A voice in the back of Eleven’s head kept whispering to her, the same thing over and over again, and every time it hurt more. ‘Max doesn’t like you anymore,’ it would hiss when Eleven was staring aimlessly at the ceiling. After awhile, she started to believe it, believed that Max had gotten sick of her and cut off all interaction with her in an attempt to end their relationship.

Eleven’s walkie talkie stood on her bedroom dresser, always switched to Max’s channel in the hope that she would come back. It was late in the afternoon when there was a crackling, and then a hushed voice spoke from the supercomm.

“Eleven,” whispered Max. Eleven sat bolt upright and jumped out of bed, grabbing the walkie talkie.

“Yes?” responded Eleven.

There was a pause, and El thought she had imagined Max’s voice until she spoke again. “Meet me at Castle Byers in 10 minutes,” she ordered.

“Castle Byers?” said Eleven, scrunching up her face. 

“See you then,” finished Max before Eleven could further interrogate her. Eleven stood in place for a few moments, holding the walkie talkie, a quizzical look on her face, before dropping the supercomm and racing around her room. She rushed to get into pants, a shirt and a jacket, and pulled on her shoes. She ran out of her bedroom, threw open the front door and jumped down the front steps, the door swinging shut and locking behind her as a slight trickle of blood ran from her nose. 

\--

“Hey El,” smiled Will as he opened the front door.

“Max said to meet here,” said Eleven between breaths, her lungs burning from sprinting. 

“Yeah, I know. Go on through to Castle Byers,” responded Will, moving aside to let El walk through the house. Joyce and Jonathan waved to Eleven as she passed the kitchen, and she smiled weakly in response before pushing open the back door. The walk to castle Byers was harder than the run to the Byers house. Eleven’s heart pounded in her chest and she kept nervously fiddling with the hem of her jacket.

A twig snapped and Eleven’s head jerked up at the sound. She stopped dead when she saw Max stepping out of the fort. The redhead smiled sheepishly, her hands in the back pockets of her blue jeans.

“Hi,” said Max.

“Hi,” replied Eleven slowly. There was another awkward pause before Max gestured towards Castle Byers, and El realised she was inviting her in. Max held open the sheet and Eleven ducked into the fort, crawling onto the mattress at the back. The two girls settled inside the fort, Max on one end of the mat and Eleven on the other. Max drummed her hands against her legs before stopping and sighing.

“I’m sorry-” started Max.

“Can you-” began Eleven. They both stopped as they realised the other was speaking, and broke out into nervous giggles. 

“You go,” said Eleven, waving at Max. 

Max nodded and took a deep breath before straightening her back and turning to face Eleven. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything I did. For yelling at you, for ignoring you, for telling you to go away, for storming out. I’m just…” she said, her eyes beginning to shine with tears, “I’m really sorry,” she finished. 

Eleven sat there silently, mulling the words over in her head, before speaking. “I’m sorry too. I should have thought about what those boys seeing us really meant, and what it could have ended in,” she whispered the last part of her words. 

“Can you forgive me?” asked Max, staring at Eleven. El regarded the other girl for a moment, she had been so tense, her emotions hard to read, but here El saw everything. She saw all the hurt, all the pain, and all the guilt from the past week. Eleven nodded.

“Can you forgive me, too?” said Eleven.

“Of course,” replied Max. The two stared at each other, a smile cracking on both their faces. 

“Oh and one more thing,” added Eleven, “why Castle Byers?” she giggled.

Max scratched the back of her head and let out a laugh. “Well, I knew I needed someplace to meet you, and I told Will and he offered the place.”

\--

Max and Eleven had been at the cabin since they left Castle Byers. The record player was on, and Eleven was dancing around on her bed, jumping around and kicking pillows onto the floor. Max was watching her, laughing, really laughing, for what felt like the first time in a long time. She stopped and stared at Eleven, watched how happy and free she was, and a wave of peacefulness washed over her. El spotted her expression and stopped jumping.

“What?” she asked, standing on the edge of the bed. Max stood up and walked up to meet her.

“I’m sorry about what I did, I’m really sorry,” she said, staring at the floor.

“Max, I know. It’s ok, you were scared for our safety, I understand,” responded El. Max felt a hand under her chin as her head was tilted upwards. She stared up at Eleven’s smiling face, and El took hold of Max’s hands. 

“I’m happy you’re back,” smiled Max.

“I’m happy you’re back too,” beamed Eleven. Max pushed herself up onto her tiptoes as Eleven bent down, their lips meeting. It was as if nothing had changed. Eleven’s lips still had a sweetness to them, one that Max could never tire of. Max smiled into the kiss, and Eleven giggled. The two pulled back and rested their foreheads together, their fingers automatically intertwining. It had been a long week and a half, one of pain and fighting and anger, but they were together now. They were safe.

Eleven thought back to what Hopper had said, about how one day her and Max would be able to show their love in public. Max’s eyes were closed when Eleven stole a look at the redhead’s freckled face, and she gave Max’s hands a squeeze and made a wish that that day wasn’t too far away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it, a happy ending! I hope you enjoyed this fic :)

**Author's Note:**

> So here is the first chapter of this short series. Someone requested an angst elmax fic on tumblr & i'm reuploading the fic here. It's quite sad... but I hope you still like it.


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